Did you feel relief before you felt concern after the severe storms and tornadoes blew through earlier this week? Editor Don Whitten writes that you’re not alone — that’s an expected reaction that turns into concern and wanting to help very quickly. (May 2, 2014, Page 4A)

Local columnist T.J. Ray recalls one afternoon in the studio of the radio station he worked for as a teenager when he was faced with a big problem – what did he do if he couldn’t find the recording of the national anthem to sign off with? (March 16, 2012, Page 4A)

Local columnist T.J. Ray remembers hard times growing up, and looks at how times and people have changed as things got better. Now, he write, we’ve become a people who seem to have a hard time conserving anything. (July 30, 2010, Page 4A)

Before racial divides can be torn down, people need to come together and simply listen to the each other, to understand how others feel, think and learn how experiences have shaped their lives. That’s why about 25 Oxford-area residents took part in a recent retreat designed to open dialogue between the races.